


Love Somebody

by Bhoomy



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: American AU, College/University AU, Drinking, F/M, M/M, mentions of drug use, mentions of haroline, minor language, zouis
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-03-10
Updated: 2013-08-01
Packaged: 2017-12-04 20:43:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/714896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bhoomy/pseuds/Bhoomy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Zayn and Louis are the epitome of extreme opposites. One's a Lit major with too much heart and not enough people to share it with while the other just doesn't care enough to feel at all - or so he says. </p><p>Never in a million years would they have found their way towards each other. But when  a class brings two of their friends together, they are ultimately forced into each other's lives. Something that neither boy knew would cause as much trouble as it is bound to.</p><p>This is being co-written with the lovely <a href="http://bicepspayne.tumblr.com/">bicepspayne</a>. (:</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is purely a work of fiction. To the best of my knowledge, the story in its entirety never happened. I own nothing but the plotline.

_Electric President blasted through Zayn’s speakers as he drove, the 1966 Ford Mustang Fastback he’d just restored running smoothly as he went. The sun beamed brightly from the sky, kissing his naturally olive skin with its warmth. The long stretch of road ahead of him was pleasantly empty, as were the miles and miles of forest that stood on either side of the pavement. Really, it was too perfect – almost straight out of a movie, if you will._

_Except… Wait. Is that a pig? Crossing the street with a cat? What the actual fuck?_

_“Off the drugs, Malik,” he chuckled to himself as he slowly made a right turn, heading towards what he was sure was the direction of his university. Only instead of being greeted by the main building, he was back at the start of the road… which, you know, wasn’t really supposed to be happening._

_Feeling a sense of panic slowly building in him, he tried to even out his breathing, counting slowly in his head just like his mother taught him that one time._

_He was on his third round of counting from one to ten when his phone rang. It took him a good minute of fishing around his bag while simultaneously keeping his eyes on the road before he finally found the currently offensive gadget. Fumbling with the answer button a couple of times, he pressed the phone against his ear and muttered out a quick hello only to receive the insistent ringing as a response._

_Furrowing his eyebrows in confusion, he pulled the mobile away from his face with the intention of checking the problem when he caught sight of quick movements that brought his attention back to the fact that he was still driving._

_And, oh, is that a freakin’ HOUSE in the middle of the street?_

_What?_

Zayn woke with a start, the annoying sound of his Avengers alarm clock still echoing around his dorm room. Blindly, he reached across his nightstand in a half-assed attempt at locating the evil contraption and maybe throwing it against the farthest wall for good measure.

He would never really do it, of course. The old thing meant too much to him. He’d never knowingly break it. It was just a nice, comforting thought sometimes.

Groggily throwing his comforter off his body, he swung his legs to the side of his twin bed and dragged his bare feet across the carpeted floor, making his way to the bathroom he shared with his roommate, Niall.

“Fuck Mondays,” Zayn grumbled to himself as he tossed his boxers aside and stood under the showerhead. It was gonna be a slow week. Somehow, he just felt it.

 

 

Louis stepped out of the shower with a towel wrapped around his waist, feet planted on one of those $6 bath mats that turned red when exposed to water (so he’s secretly an online bargain hunter, so what?). He walked slowly to the huge walk-in closet that was built right next to his en suite bathroom, humming tunelessly as he mentally tried to decide on what to wear for the day. After running through the day’s schedule in his head, he figured a simple ensemble would do so he settled for one of his plain shirts and black skinny jeans, grabbing a denim jacket just in case.

He was on his way out of the bedroom (after having to go through several pairs of haphazardly discarded jeans to find his keys) when his phone buzzed, signaling a text from one of his college buddies.

> _From: Lee-Yummm_
> 
> _Heard Old Man Cowell’s out today. Meet us at the Courtyard instead? Hazza’s got goods. Cousin hooked him up._

After shooting a quick reply, Louis stumbled out of the front door and jogged over to the circular driveway that was situated outside of his parents’ massive Victorian-inspired home, where his Porsche Cayman was parked. Pausing for a bit to take in the serenity of his surroundings, he yanked the door open and quickly sat himself down on the driver’s seat.

Revving up the engine, he peeled his way out of the iron gates that stood tall in front of the Tomlinsons’ far-from-modest property, speeding down the hill without a care in the world.

“Just another boring, old Monday,” he sighed to himself as he made a sharp turn down the road towards Uni.


	2. First Look

Zayn plopped himself down under his favorite tree in the university park, a notepad clutched in one hand and a pencil tucked behind one of his ears. He had been trying for days now to finish up that poem due for his Contemporary Poetry class next Monday but so far all he'd been able to come up with were a couple of clichéd lines about starry eyes and smiles that matched the rays of the sun and really, that shit's overused.

Taking the pencil from behind his ear, he fiddled with the long object for a bit, berating himself for having so much trouble with the assignment. He’s never had any problems with poetry – after all he’s been writing it since he was twelve – but for some reason he just wasn’t feeling it lately, and that bothered him. He thought about it long and hard, staring at the blank page in front of him, until he finally decided to just give up for the day.

 _Maybe I’ll do better tomorrow._ He thought.

He was about to resort to sitting back to watch the other students in the lawn when he felt his phone vibrate near his left thigh. Adjusting his position a bit, he reached into the pocket of his tight jeans and retrieved his mobile, where his best friend’s name flashed on the screen.

Smirking to himself, he unlocked his phone to open the text.

> _From: Niall’s Sexy and I Know It_
> 
> _Broooo! Fucking starving, man! Where R U??????_
> 
> _From: Zayner Boy_
> 
> _Park. Thought U had work?_
> 
> _From: Niall’s Sexy and I Know It_
> 
> _I do. But my shift’s about 2 end. Buy me dinner?_
> 
> _From: Zayner Boy_
> 
> _Srsly, Y would I do that?_
> 
> _From: Niall’s Sexy and I Know It_
> 
> _Y the fuck not!? C’mon, Zaynerrrr! I’m hungryyyyy!_
> 
> _From: Zayner Boy_
> 
> _Call me Zayner one more time and I won’t even consider coming 2 C U._
> 
> _From: Niall's Sexy and I Know It_
> 
> _But.. Zaynie Boy! U can’t leave me here 2 die!!!!!!!_
> 
> _From: Zayner Boy_
> 
> _Oh, trust me. The thought sounds very appealing._
> 
> _From: Niall’s Sexy and I Know It_
> 
> _HAH! Love ya too, Z! See you in a bit! Xx_

Zayn shook his head as he fought the smile that was threatening to crawl itself across his lips. He just never had the will to turn down the small blond, and they’ve been best friends since he moved from Ireland during their senior year in high school. One would think he’d have developed some balls or shit by then, right?

After stuffing all his things inside the backpack he’d tossed aside earlier, he slung the strap over his shoulder and made his way across the grassy stretch of land to the small campus coffee shop where Niall worked, his stomach already grumbling as he realized how hungry he himself actually was.

 

 

The sound of chimes echoed off the walls of the busy café as Zayn pushed the door, holding it open for a couple of girls who gave him heart eyes on their way out. It was still quite a mystery to him how people seemed to stop and stare when he was around, but he was never the rude type so he always just smiled politely whenever these things happened. He never really questioned it out loud because it sounded too cocky.

He walked slowly around the modest-sized establishment in an effort to spot Niall. He was just about to head to the counter to ask the redheaded barista (Ed something-or-other, if he remembered correctly) where the little leprechaun was, when a blaring voice caught his attention. Turning his head towards the direction of the sound, he was met by the sight of his favorite Irishman sitting on one of the corner booths, chatting up a waitress Zayn didn’t recognize. With a smirk, Zayn adjusted his bag on his shoulder and walked over, clearing his throat to get his friend’s attention.

“Ma-liiik!” Niall exclaimed excitedly, already forgetting about the poor girl he was flirting with just seconds before. “Sit, sit! I was just about to order.”

“Seriously, Ni. Your shift just ended. Don’t you wanna eat somewhere else?” the black-haired boy asked as he squeezed himself into what little space was left on the small wooden bench the other was occupying.

Looking at Zayn with a confused expression, Niall responded, “And miss out on a perfectly good brinner? Hell no, man!” And with that he started springing off their orders to the overwhelmed server – Emma, according to her nametag.

“So, still no progress on that poem, huh?” Niall directed his attention to his best friend after sending their waitress off with a wink. He ran a pale hand through his messy hair before putting his red snapback back on.

From a stranger’s point of view, it was quite amusing how the two really couldn’t be more different. While one was all dark and mysterious and ink-smudged fingers, the other was bright and shiny and wide-toothed grins. Nobody really understood their relationship, even those who witnessed its beginnings when they were still in high school. But it worked for them and it was really all that mattered in the end so they just stuck with it.

“Ugh,” Zayn groaned, remembering what little of the poem he’s managed to write, “Don’t remind me. Not all of us have people throwing themselves at our feet for inspiration, y’know.” He continued, making a joke out of Niall’s habit of flirting with anything in a skirt.

“Don’t hate the player, man,” Niall chuckled half-heartedly. “But seriously, though. Mate, if you just put yourself out there more you’d be set. I mean, you’ve seen yourself! _I’d_ be all over you. Y’know, if I swung that way and all…”

“Shut up, man.” Zayn half-smiled, just as their food arrived. He quickly started digging into his chicken omelet before changing the subject. “So, how was your class today?”

This earned him a snort from the boy, who shrugged before stopping in the middle of stuffing his face with sausages so he could reply.

“S’alright. Psych class is a bit of a hassle, though.” The blond swallowed the food in his mouth before continuing, “I have to do this project with this kid named Styles but he’s hardly ever in so I don’t exactly know how that’s gonna work.”

“Can’t you ask to do the work on your own or something? Maybe get a different partner?” Zayn offered, knowing how Niall must be feeling as they usually only ever worked together.

“Everyone’s already paired off, mate. It’s an even-numbered class so no one’s allowed to work solo.” He rubbed his hand on the back of his neck before a smile brightened his face again, “Anyway, you gonna finish that bacon?”

Zayn chuckled fondly as he pushed his plate towards his friend, signaling that the younger one could help himself to whatever he’d left over. They spent the next few minutes in relative silence, Zayn watching as Niall devoured every last bit of food leftover on each of their plates before they decided to head back to the dorms and call it a night.

 

 

A few days later found Zayn cooped up in the dorms, quietly sitting by himself as Niall was finishing up his Friday classes. Being a student of the arts, the slightly older boy had more free time on his hands as the university’s program used a more “hands-on” approach for the curriculum. The same didn’t hold true for the sciences, much to the paler boy’s dismay.

“What’s happenin’, mofo!” Niall greeted enthusiastically as he threw the door open later in the day, leading himself inside the small dorm room the two friends shared. With his backpack slung over his left shoulder, he crossed the room in two long strides and threw himself on one of the two beds in the room, crossing his arms behind his head as he beamed at the other boy.

Zayn, who had been hunched over his desk – eyebrows furrowed and bottom lip worried – looked up, the frown on his face quickly lifting into a smile when he realized who his intruder was.

“Hey, Ni. You seem happy today.” He observed as he spun his chair to face the other, once again procrastinating on the one assignment he’s yet to complete.

"Met that Styles guy I was telling you about yesterday. Sick dude, man! He’s actually pretty smart if you’re patient enough to wait for him to end his sentences. He hooked me up to some tickets to his mate’s band’s gig tonight!"

Zayn gave a half-hearted smile as he took in everything Niall had said. It wasn’t that he was jealous that the boy had found a new friend. Their friendship was far too strong for anything like that to be an issue. He just never cared much for social outings so he couldn’t share Niall’s enthusiasm. He didn’t want to be rude, though, so he said, “That’s really cool, bro!”

“Hell yeah, it is!” Niall’s smile couldn’t be wider if he tried. “Be ready by 7!”

“I’m sorry, what?” Zayn raised an eyebrow, looking at Niall as if he suddenly grew three extra heads. “Man, no. You know that’s not my ty-“

“Don’t give a flying fuck, you’re still coming mate!” the blond interrupted, not leaving any more room for excuses and arguments. Pulling out his iPod, he stuffed his earplugs in his ears and closed his eyes, almost immediately snoring after.

With an incredulous look plastered on his face, Zayn shook his head and resigned to his fate, knowing better than to try to get himself out of a plan Niall’s already dead set on.

“There goes my quiet Friday, then.” He grumbled to himself.

 

 

The walk to the open field was mostly spent in silence, with Niall tapping away at his phone every now and again as he busied himself with making arrangements with _This Styles Fellow_ , as Zayn had taken to calling Niall’s new friend. By the time they reached their destination a little past 7:20 PM, the place was packed with college-age kids loitering about.

It felt almost like a scene straight out of those cliché college films where frat parties were the norm and everyone was either a douche bag jock or a misunderstood hipster. Except, okay, Zayn had to admit that there were a bunch of people he recognized from some of his classes and they were alright so this must not be as bad as he had originally perceived.

It didn’t make the whole experience any more comfortable, though.

He was just about to tell Niall that he was feeling a little ill (he wasn’t really, but what’s a little white lie between friends?), when he felt him pulling at his sleeve and tugging him towards some random direction. Deciding that he really didn’t have a say in the matter, Zayn allowed himself to be dragged to an area closer to the stage where small groups of people were huddled.

“It’s my favorite leprechaun!” Zayn heard someone drawl slowly from his left, making him turn his head to see who the voice belonged to. All he got, though, was a view of messy curls running past him as a tall guy suddenly engulfed Niall in a bear hug. Which came across as weird to Zayn because, well, who the hell is this guy and why is he all up in his best friend’s space?

“You’re scaring the other dude, Haz.” Another voice said as the guy, who Zayn now presumed to be Harry, released Niall from his death grip to reveal a bright, dimpled smile that could actually rival Mr. Sunshine’s. Hmm.

“Oh, shoot. Sorry.” Harry lifted his hand for Zayn to take. “I’m Harry. You’re Zayn, I guess?”

“Uh, y-yeah.” Zayn stammered as he awkwardly accepted the handshake, letting go immediately as if he was burned by the other’s touch. “Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise, dude!” Harry kept smiling, lifting his other hand to drink from the plastic cup Zayn hadn’t noticed he’d been carrying earlier.

“That cookie over there to your right is my friend Liam. Don’t let the buzz cut fool you. He’s about as intimidating as a toy poodle.” Harry winked at his friend as he said this, obviously pleased at himself. “And Louis is on his way. Got caught up in lecture but he’ll be here.”

Zayn was amazed at how charming and confident Harry was, and he could see how Niall immediately took a liking to the boy. He was so relaxed and comfortable (almost as if everyone was his best friend, really) that anyone would be drawn to him. And Liam wasn’t so bad either.

Yeah, Zayn could maybe get used to them.

They’d spent a good few minutes just standing around listening to Harry and Niall go on about stuff as if they were childhood friends who’d just gotten reunited when the lights dimmed and a loud guitar riff started floating through the speakers, effectively drawing everyone’s attention. And just as the lights on the stage were turned back on to reveal the first band for the night, someone bumped into Zayn from behind, sending his lanky frame a few steps forward.

He wanted to tell the person off. Really he did. He was just about to, in fact. But when he turned around to give the clumsy oaf a piece of his mind, he was met by the brightest pair of blue eyes he’d ever seen on anyone. And really, no one could have blamed him when the only thing he managed was a breathy, “Oh.”


	3. Here We Go

Louis stepped out of his car and locked the doors before making his way to the university’s field, which was full of students who, in his opinion, looked like they had nothing better to do with their time. Personally, he himself would rather be sitting in his room playing FIFA, but for some unknown reason he had let one curly-haired devil sweet talk him into coming to this… thing… instead.

Carefully dodging his way around the crowd of his drunk and restless peers, he craned his neck and stood on tiptoes in an attempt to find Harry or Liam. Once he’d spotted the pair a few feet away, he clumsily made his way over, losing his balance and accidentally bumping into this guy whom he hadn’t noticed had been standing almost right in front of him.

Shooting an apathetic glance at the black haired boy, he mumbled a quick sorry, choosing to ignore the odd look the other one was giving him as he jogged over to where his best friends were standing with a small blond.

“Lou Bear!” Harry yelled, trying to make himself heard as clearly as possible over the thumping of the speakers around them. “What took you so long, dude?”

“Stupid professor started talking about his fucking dog halfway through the lecture.” Louis complained as he crossed his arms over his chest.”I mean, honestly. Nobody gives a shit if he took it out for a walk and it crapped on someone. Totally lame.”

Harry chuckled and patted Louis on the back, trying to calm his friend.

“Whatever. Anyway, where’s Liam?”

“You rang, O Great One?” Liam teased as he playfully hit his oldest friend on the shoulder.

“Oh, throwing punches now are we?” Louis scoffed as he raised an eyebrow at Liam. “Careful there, Payner. Don’t want a repeat of last time now, do we?”

“Pssh. Shut up.” Liam deadpanned, pouting at the chestnut-haired boy.

“Aww, you two are the cutest!” Harry grinned at them, placing himself in the middle and tossing an arm around each of their shoulders. With a smug look on his face, he kissed both of his friends on the cheek before addressing the smaller one. “Anyway, Lou, I want you to meet my new friends!”

Louis rolled his eyes as he smirked to himself, eyeing the red plastic cup Harry was clutching with his hand. He was about to call him out on it – he hated when Harry got too drunk – when the youngest continued.

“This is Niall.” Harry beamed, pointing to the Irishman in question. “He’s my partner in that uh… project…in that class, remember?”

Louis grunted an agreement as Harry looked at him expectantly, his eyes just a bit glossed over, before pointing behind Niall.

“And that guy you bumped into? That’s Zayn.” Harry hiccupped. “He’s suuuuper quiet. He can give you a run for your money.”

The last bit was said in a stage whisper, and Louis noticed how the other guy – _Zayn_ – had blushed slightly at the way Harry had described him. Louis found this to be rather interesting. He certainly had not expected that Harry would be associating himself with someone so shy and reserved. He was normally too loud and over-the-top for people like that to want to hang around him.

“Um, yeah, uh…” the dark-skinned boy suddenly started stuttering, still standing at the very spot Louis had found him in several minutes before. “Well, um… Excuse me. I’m gonna… go… find a drink or something.” Rubbing the back of his neck with his right hand, Zayn made a sharp turn and walked into a random direction, obviously clueless as to where he was going.

“Hmm,” Louis hummed disinterestedly, “Well, as entertaining as that exchange was, I think I’ll just go. Can I go now, Haz?”

Louis hadn’t meant to sound so harsh. He didn’t, he would swear his dog’s life on it (if he had one). He just really wasn’t in the mood for big crowds and subpar music. Seeing the look of disappointment on Harry’s face made him want to take back his words, though.

“Look, Lou.” The younger boy sighed, his shoulders slumping in defeat. “I know you don’t want to be here, okay. I just thought a change in scenery would do you good, man. You don’t have to be a dick about it.”

And okay, yeah. The hurt in Harry’s tone was enough to tug at Louis’s heartstrings, which very few people are allowed to mess with. Sighing, he apologized, slapping a hand on his best friend’s shoulder and nodding towards Niall.

“I’m sorry, dude. I just have my bitchy days.”

“It’s cool,” Niall grinned, his Irish tilt adding an extra amount of cheer to his words.

Things pretty much fell into a pattern after that awkward exchange. Although he didn’t offer much to the conversation, Louis did manage to stay civil as the-two-idiots-slash-soul-mates resumed their mindless chatter. The small brunet didn’t really mind, even after Liam had left him to fend for himself when some of his track teammates called him over to join them. He couldn’t stop his mind from wandering to Zayn every now and then, though. Somehow he was just intrigued by the dark hair and dark skin and dark… well, everything, it seemed.

He was just about to excuse himself to attempt to find the mysterious fellow when Liam broke his train of thought.

“Where are you off to, Loulou?” Taking a deep breath to hold in a sigh of annoyance, Louis turned to face his friend.

“Gonna see if I can find anything to do around here. You all seem pretty busy with other people.” He spat bitterly, groaning inwardly as he realized once again just how bitchy he was being.

“What’s up with you, bro?” Liam furrowed his eyebrows in worry before joking, “Are you on your man period? Is that it?”

“Fuck off, Li-Bug.” Louis said in a mocking tone, playfully shoving Liam on his broad shoulders.

“Don’t call me that, Lou!” He whined, checking to see that nobody actually heard his best friend uttering the extremely embarrassing childhood nickname.

Louis laughed loudly as he watched the shade of pink spread from Liam’s cheeks all the way to his ears and neck. It was really a rather endearing sight and Louis loved that he was the cause of it. Nothing like a good-natured verbal jab between friends.

“You started it.” Louis reached over to ruffle Liam’s hair, an action that the receiving male welcomed wholeheartedly. “Anyway, I’m gonna go walk around.  Text me if you need me, yeah?”

Louis didn’t wait for Liam to respond, instead making his way to where he saw that most people were getting refreshments. After grabbing himself a beer, he started aimlessly walking about, and that’s when he spotted a familiar leather-clad figured hunched over under one of the trees with what looked like a pad or a notebook clutched tight in his hands.

“You’re gonna burn a hole in that.” Louis remarked, standing right in front of Zayn, blocking the small amount of light coming from the light posts around them.

Confusion slowly turned into recognition on the seated boy’s face as he saw that the figure blocking his lighting was actually one of the guys he was supposed to be in the event with. Nodding his head and offering a weak chuckle, he discreetly placed his notepad on the grass beside him.

“Mind if I sit?” Louis asked, motioning to the empty spot next to Zayn.

With a quick nod, the hazel-eyed lad agreed, adjusting his legs to give even more room for Louis. Not that it was necessary seeing as there wasn’t really anyone else hang around where they were. When Louis was settled as comfortably as he possibly could be, he raised his plastic cup to Zayn in a silent offer to share his drink which the latter quickly declined.

“So.” Louis started, not really used to making small talk but somehow being unable to stop himself from attempting to strike a conversation. “What’ve you got there?”

“Oh, um…” Zayn started, running a hand through his hair as he thought of how to explain his assignment. “It’s just a stupid poem I’m working on for my Contemporary Poetry class. It’s… well, due on Monday.”

“Ahh…” Louis replied, not really sure if he was impressed or mortified that the dude was doing homework while at a social gathering. “Didn’t peg you for the poetic type.”

“Is that a bad thing, then?” Zayn asked, his eyes trained on his lap.

“Oh, not at all.” Louis replied, his tond strangely fond. “It’s a pleasant surprise. To be honest I didn’t know what to expect from you. I guess it just definitely wasn’t… that.” He rambled on, lifting his glass to his lips immediately after, afraid that he might say something that would make him look like an idiot.

He could feel Zayn staring at him as he chugged his drink down, looking anywhere but to his right because if he was being honest he was suddenly feeling shy and insecure himself.

He was just about down to the last drop of his beer when he heard Harry’s familiar, slow drawl calling out to them, causing him to silently thank the dude for his impeccable timing.

“Nick’s band is done playing and now I’m bored.” Harry proclaimed when he, Liam, and Niall reached the tree where Zayn and Louis were seated. “Let’s go get pissed somewhere.”

“Aren’t you drunk enough as it is, H?” Louis questioned, eyeing how Harry was slightly swaying on his feet.

“Aww, c’mon, Lou. It’s the weekend. Let me have this,” the curly-haired boy pouted at his gold-skinned best friend, knowing that would do the trick.

Rolling his eyes and sighing in defeat, Louis shrugged his shoulders and stood up, joining Harry where he stood a couple of feet away.

“You coming, Broody?” Louis asked, looking down at where Zayn’s legs were still crossed on the grassy lawn.

“I…” Zayn was like a deer caught in headlights as he looked at Niall, silently asking for help. Which he got. Sort of.

“C’mon, mate!” Niall beckoned, walking over to Zayn and offering him his hand. “It’ll be fun. Loosen up, yeah? Maybe this will help with that assignment.”

Louis’s face contorted into a half-amused, half-confused expression as he tried to contemplate the logic the Irish boy was feeding his friend. He didn’t say anything, of course, because it wasn’t his place. But somehow he didn’t see sense in the pale one’s words and he could tell Zayn didn’t either. So he was rather surprised when he saw that the raven-haired guy took Niall’s hand and pulled himself off the ground.

Not that he was complaining.

Like, you know, whatever.

“Yo, Lou. You comin’ or what?” Harry called out, already heading towards the direction of his SUV. With a shrug of his shoulders, the oldest of the group followed the others, amusing himself with the sight of the three drunk idiots struggling to walk straight, Zayn wearing a panic-stricken expression as he stood next to them.

They reached Harry’s car soon enough and after fighting the bastard for the keys, Louis climbed onto the driver’s seat, checking to see that everyone was accounted for before turning the ignition and peeling out of the parking lot.

 

 

Three hours, one trip to the convenience store, and about eleven different mixes of alcohol later, the five boys found themselves sitting outside the university’s main building, right at the foot of the founder’s statue. They were parked at the bottom of the steps leading to the entrance – which, on a regular day, wasn’t allowed but given the circumstances they decided to chance it – and were spread out around that general area, Niall having occupied the landing on the driver’s seat while the others found spots at the base of the marble.

They had all run out of things to talk about and were just idly sitting about when Niall pulled something from under the car seat he was leaning against. Turning it over a couple of times, the blond shook the can repeatedly as he asked, “Harry, mate, what’s this doin’ under your seat?”

Harry, who was leaning (sleeping, really) on Liam’s shoulder lifted his head to look at Niall before responding with a chuckle. “Oh, that’s the leftover spray paint I used for that gift I gave my girl a couple of weeks ago.”

 “You used black spray paint as a gift for Caroline?” Liam questioned, clearly a little more buzzed than he seemed to be.

“No, dumbass.” Louis chimed in from his position, “He used it as _part_ of the gift. Get with the program, Bug.”

“Whatever, just pass me more of that booze.” Liam grumbled, obviously miffed at the use of that damn nickname.

Louis smirked as he chugged the remaining contents of his can, hearing Harry pass one over to Liam. He closed his eyes as he felt the cool liquid burn his throat, enjoying the feeling of it. As he leaned his head against the cool marble behind him, he heard Niall addressing Zayn, offering his friend some alcohol as he’s only been having coke all night.

“Nah, man, I’m cool.” He heard Zayn answer.

Louis still didn’t know much about Zayn but he did notice how the guy was too closed off for his own good. That he needed to know how to have a good time. So he decided to take it upon himself to teach him just that.

Sending Zayn off to go grab something from the hood of Harry’s car, he bounced to his feet the moment the other was out of view, quickly grabbing the can of coke Zayn left lying around and adding some Jack Daniels into it. Not too much, just enough to give the guy a slight buzz. God knows he needed it.

When Zayn came back, all eyes were on him as he took a rather large gulp of his soda, his face scrunching up a bit at the strange taste. The confused expression that graced his face seconds earlier was quickly replaced by a look of enjoyment, though, as he chugged down what was left of his drink, forgetting to question why it tasted different.

Soon enough, one drink turned to two to three to four. Zayn was suddenly a bouncing ball of energy. He was tackling Niall to the ground, running around the statue, and even sitting on Liam’s lap, causing both boys to laugh loudly.

Louis found himself distracted by this sudden change in Zayn that he’d almost missed the sound of Harry, Niall, and Liam throwing empty bottles at the rear of the statue. He almost left to join the other three, but when he heard the sound of spraying, his attention was once again glued to the boy he was suddenly so intrigued by.

Seriously, if Louis was the sappy type he would have gone through great lengths to woo Zayn right then and there. The way his eyes sparkled with mischief when they were almost dead just moments ago was just so enamoring to the curvier boy. Even if the object of his interest was being immature and drawing a tiny penis right where the crotch of the statue was supposed to be.

He was just about to scold himself for being so lame and girly – really, Louis fuckin’ Tomlinson doesn’t do smitten, okay? He’s just highly engrossed in his new experiment – when he heard a loud voice booming from a short distance. Suddenly, all the fog that was clogging his bran cleared up and he ran to where the other three were, arms flying everywhere as he hissed at them to run to the car.

“Oh, shit,” he vaguely heard Harry curse as several pairs of feet began to scramble towards the car.

Jumping over each other in panic, the boys didn’t even bother sitting themselves properly before Harry was starting to drive away. Except, something wasn’t right. Something was missing.

“Guys,” Niall – Louis assumed it was Niall, at least – began, “where the fuck is Zayn?!”

This outburst caused Harry to hit the brakes, sending all of them to hurtle forward and for Louis to mutter a quick “fuck” before he was unbuckling his seatbelt and stepping out.

“What the hell are you doing, Tommo?!” Harry yelled, clearly sobering up due to the panic rising in him.

“Just go!” Louis yelled back, already making his way back to where he saw Zayn last. “I’ll take care of this.”

It took a few seconds but Louis finally heard Harry pulling away just as he spotted Zayn, still blissfully spraying away at the statue, completely unaware that he was alone.

“Oh, thank God!” Louis sighed with relief, relaxing his shoulders just a bit when he saw that the coast seemed clear.

He was already making his way towards Zayn, a teasing expression plastered on his face, when the other boy suddenly turned to his direction, the brightness in his eyes suddenly being replaced with fear. Louis was just about to ask what was wrong, but he never got the chance. He didn’t have to ask because just as he was about to open his mouth to speak, he felt cold metal around his wrists which were suddenly being held behind his back.

With a disbelieving scoff, he dropped his head and shook it, the only words finding their way out his lips being a muffled, “Well holy fuck.” 


	4. I'm Sorry

“What the fuck were you thinking, Lou?” Harry  yelled,  face burning with anger as he reached for the keys in his pocket. “Do you realize how much shit you could get at home?”

The older boy’s head jolted up, a worried look plastered across his face as he climbed into the passenger’s seat of  Harry’s  car. “D-did you tell my parents?” He stuttered, still looking at the taller boy with concern in his eyes

“What? No, of course I didn’t!” Harry stammered as he pulled out of the parking lot outside the police station. “But could you imagine if I did?”

Harry, along with Liam, knew just about everything about the smaller brunet. From his family to the way he liked to sleep, nothing was really kept secret from his childhood friends. That was why the curly haired boy knew to take matters into his own hands and not get Louis’s father involved. Being on the board of directors of one of the biggest information technology companies in the state, Mark Tomlinson was always away on business and never actually had any time for his son. But that did not stop the man from expecting nothing short of the best of his only heir. Something that Louis felt he was yet to live up to.

Zayn  observed from the backseat, his head bowed in shame as he mentally berated himself for being so stupid. He couldn’t bear to even look at the rest of the group because the guilt was gnawing at him so much. Niall however, being his usual carefree self, seemed to find the whole situation amusing and couldn’t stop giggling beside him, making the darker-haired boy genuinely more pissed than he already was.

“Shut up Niall,” he hissed into the younger boy’s ear, taking care to not draw attention from the pair seated in the front. The anger in  Zayn’s  face caught Niall’s attention making him sober up and quiet down.

A few minutes had passed with Louis and Harry continuing to argue in the front seats, whispering to each other every now and then so that  Zayn  and Niall wouldn’t hear. Not that the former would have really understood what they were talking about as Zayn  had fallen deep into his own thoughts, blocking out all sounds around him as the car moved forward.

He had been so immersed in his own internal musings that he hadn’t even noticed that Harry was taking them directly to their dorm; not until he heard Niall utter a quick thanks to the tallest before jumping out.

“ G’night , lads,” he chirped, trying –  bless his heart ,  Zayn thought – to add a little cheer to the tense atmosphere.

Harry took that moment to discreetly glare at Louis before spinning around in his seat, his winning smile gracing his boyish features. “Good times, boys,” he started, resting his left hand on the back seat of Louis’s head rest. “I’ll text you about the project, Horan.”

“Cool, cool.” Niall nodded, silently tugging on  Zayn’s  plaid sleeve as a sign to tell him to get down as well. “Bye, Louis. It was nice meeting you.”

“Y-yeah,” Louis quietly replied, his voice sounding strained. He continued to stare blankly at the dashboard as he added, “You too, man.”

“I…”  Zayn  tried to find words to apologize, or maybe make the situation a little lighter at least. He shouldn’t have had trouble with it. He was a writer. Words were his life. Somehow that wasn’t really doing anything for him, though. So with a resigned grunt, he settled for, “I’m really sorry.”

Not waiting for a reply from either of the boys  still in the car, he hopped off the side Niall was blocking, lightly kicking the blond in the thigh to get him to move and give him room.

Once both boys were standing on the pavement, Niall closed the car door they’d exited through and gave a little wave to Harry and Louis before tossing his arm around  Zayn . He kissed his friend lightly on the shoulder, looking up at him to silently ask if he was okay. Something  Zayn  couldn’t answer even if he tried.

“It’s all right,  Zayner ,” Niall whispered, leading the skinnier boy to their dorm room. “It’s not your fault, mate,  y’hear ?”

The walk to their door was spent in relative silence, except for the times when he heard Niall giving passive greetings to a few people in the halls. By the time they’d made it to their floor, at least half a dozen people  had attempted to “congratulate the rebel” as someone put it, and  Zayn  was downright annoyed by all the attention. He just wanted to get inside and yell at himself for being an idiot, but apparently that’s what got people to notice you and well, who’s Mr.  Fuckin ’ Popular now, huh?

Pulling his key from his shirt pocket, he stabbed the lock (with such great force that Niall thought he’d possibly murdered their doorknob) and marched inside, not bothering with the light as he threw himself on Niall’s bed and just laid there.

He didn’t have to speak for Niall to know how greatly disappointed he was in himself. Up until now all the tanned boy had ever really done was smoke a little pot in the privacy and safety of the very room he was in at the moment. The only time he’d ever had alcohol was when he was fifteen and experimenting was the cool thing to do. Obviously it had been a smart idea for him to not get into the habit because well, look what happened.

Niall sighed sadly as he watched his best friend staring into nothing. Honestly, he didn’t quite understand why  Zayn  was as affected as he was. Sure, the boy was always considerate and never selfish, but he’d just met Louis and really the whole thing was more his fault that  Zayn’s  so he didn’t get what the big deal was. He knew the guy well enough to not question anything, though. So after tossing his shoes off, he decided to just carefully climb his own bed and crawl over the stiff figure there, situating himself between him and the empty wall.

“Sleep it off, Z.”

And he did.

 

 

The next morning found  Zayn  and Niall basically spooning as the sun’s rays shined on the slightly taller boy’s face, effectively waking him from his slumber. Grunting (and mentally cursing at himself because of the god-awful hangover he was having), he threw Niall’s sleep-heavy arm off his waist as he all but crawled over to his own bed, shoving his face into his pillow and pulling the sheets over his head. He had every intention of going back to sleep.

Except an unsettling feeling  started to make its way into his stomach and up his throat, causing his to bolt out of bed and run into their bathroom  where he proceeded to heave out all the alcohol left in his system. Not a pretty sight. Not a pretty sight  at all .

“Mate, shut up!”  Niall complained as he grabbed the pillow from under his head and used it to shield himself from the light and the noise. “I really don’t need to hear you retching this early.”

“Fuck off, Ni,”  Zayn  shot back, resting his forehead on the arm slung over the lid of the toilet. “You should get up, dude. We have Jefferson.”

English Lit was the one class  Zayn  and Niall had together and although most sessions consisted of Niall making random remarks at their poor professor,  (“They have a sale on hair regrowth  products at the mall. You should check it out, Doc!”) the  two hardly ever missed sessions because  Zayn  would rather die than skip on discussions on John Keats.

“No,” was the only response the blond made before the sound of him  snoring bounced off the walls.

Accepting that he was going to have to brave class alone today, Zayn  forced himself to get off the floor and take a quick shower just so he could at least make himself presentab le enough to the outside world – which was a huge effort because his head felt heavy and his knees felt like jelly and he really just wanted to get back to bed.

It took him all of thirty minutes just to steady himself enough to stand in the shower and by the time 2:30PM rolled around, he had just enough time to grab a clean shirt, pull some jeans on, and run across campus for his 2:55PM period. It was a pretty tough thing to accomplish, but by 2:49PM he was standing outside the lecture hall, panting heavily in hopes of regulating his breathing  just a smidge .

Pushing the heavy door open, Zayn was glad to find that his professor had yet to come in so he had some time to mentally prepare before the class officially started. Slumping down on his usual seat in the fifth row, he placed his backpack on his lap and took out his laptop, carefully putting it down on his desk before dumping his bag on the floor next to his feet. 

He had just turned on his laptop and was in the process of opening a blank note document when Dr. Jefferson barged in, arms full of photocopied readings, as per usual. As a general rule, the university  enforced a paperless system, encouraging faculty and students to rely on electronic forms of exchange as often as possible. But the good old doctor was adamant on the necessity of doing things as close to traditional as possible  – s omething that’s gotten him in trouble with the  Board  more th an a few times.

As the professor finally finished laying his stuff out on the large desk situated in the front of the room, he turned around to face the class, a slip of paper clutched in one hand while the other reached inside his breast pocket for his glasses. Typically, he started lectures with a random question thrown at the students, so this deviation caught  Zayn’s  attention immediately.

“Mr.  Malik ?” Dr.  Jefferson  called out, his eyes scanning the room for  Zayn . Once he spotted the younger man, he continued, “Ah, yes. No Mr. Horan today, it seems. Anyway, the Dean is asking to see you immediately.”

Zayn  could feel all the eyes suddenly trained on him as his face started to heat up, no doubt tinting his skin bright red. Clearing his throat, the boy attempted to ask, “Uh… Now?”

“Yes, young man,” his professor simply nodded, a hint of amusement evident in his eyes.

“Err…  Uh…  Yeah.  Right, of course.” Zayn  stammered ,  panic rising in his chest as several possibilities ran in his head. Obviously, it was about what happened the night before. Fuck. This is too quick of a repercussion. He had hoped he had until Monday to dwell on his actions at the very least. Apparently, though, that’s not the case.

“…you next week. Grab a couple of copies of the required reading for yourself and Mr. Horan.”  Zayn  seemed to have spaced out for a bit, because he had failed to catch most of what Dr. Jefferson had been saying. If the man hadn’t been outright pointing at where he laid out the assignment,  Zayn  would have had no way of figuring out what he was being instructed to do .

Luckily he did catch it, though. So hurriedly, he stuffed his laptop inside his bag and hastily grabbed a couple of photocopies before running out the room, avoiding any and all eye contact with his classmates.

It took him a good twenty minutes to get to the building that house d  the faculty and staff offices as he actually stopped for a smoke just so  he could delay the inevitable. When he got there, however, the secretary didn’t waste any time and immediately led him to the office at the farthest end of the hall, where a shiny sign read,  Paul Higgins, University Dean .

Gulping and resisting the urge to turn around and run, he thanked the tiny woman politely before knocking and opening the door. As he stepped in, he saw Dean Higgins seated behind his desk, a small frown etched on his face as he look at  Zayn .

“ Mr.Malik ,” the intimidating, large man greeted. “Have a seat. I was just discussing the issue with Mr. Tomlinson here. ”

Zayn  froze on his tracks when he heard Louis being mentioned. Sure, he had expected the other boy to be called in as well. He just didn’t take into consideration the possibility that they would be called in  together .

“Well?” Dean Higgins raised an expectant eyebrow at  Zayn  as he tipped his chin towards one of the seats opposite his own.

“Oh, uh, sorry.” Zayn  awkwardly crossed the room and slowly sat on the chair offered to him which was, surprisingly, rather comfortable. If the circumstances had been different – had he been in the Dean’s office for more pleasant reasons – he would have actually been able to relax some.

That obviously wasn’t possible, of course.

“So,” Dean Higgins started, bringing his intertwined fingers to rest on his desk. “I assume you boys know why you’re here?”

For a man as physically big as Paul Higgins, everyone usually expected an iron fist and a short temper. And while he doesn’t let ill behavior slip through his fingers, he has never – in his twenty years of serving as the head of the institution – lost his temper on anybody… students, parents, and colleagues alike. He was just a generally  good guy.

“That stunt you pulled last night can’t be ignored,” Dean Higgins pressed, shifting eye contact between  Zayn  and Louis – who were successfully ignoring each other – as he explained the situation. “The Board is furious. If it were up to them, you’d both be suspended indefinitely.”

Zayn  noticed Louis visibly tense at that. Remembering the bits he heard from Harry about Louis’s dad, the darker boy figured he could take a guess to the reasons for the  older’s  behavior.

“ But,” Dean Higgins raised his right hand to stop any interruptions. “I managed to talk them into lowering your punishment. Are you ready to hear me out?” When he saw both boys’ small nods, he resumed.  “Community service.  Forty hours for each of you. I have already made the necessary arrangements.”

“But, Mr. Higgins,” Louis cut in, slumping forward a bit in his seat. “M-my dad. He’ll be furious if I have something like this in my record! Please, Sir. Something else. Please.” 

Zayn  felt a pang of guilt in his chest as he listened to Louis pleading to get out of his punishment. He’d never really had to deal with such things with his own father. Granted, he  expected the man  would  be less than thrilled  that  his only son  had  defaced school property. But  Zayn  knew for sure his father would sigh in disappointment at most before telling him something along the lines of, “Lesson learned, my boy, yes?”

He had never felt as lucky to have his dad.

“Like I said, Mr. Tomlinson, it’s either this or suspension for an unknown amount of time.” Dean Higgins rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Please, boys, just go with this option. It’s really the safest route either of you can take.”

“Can I work his hours for him?”  Zayn  found himself asking as soon as the elder man finished speaking.

“What?!” Louis exclaimed, clearly displeased at the offer.

“Well, I mean…”  Zayn  struggled to find the words to explain himself . “I-it’s my fault you’re here, Louis. I… If you hadn’t, y’know , come back for me you wouldn’t be here.” He turned his body towards Dean Higgins before making his own plea. “Please, Sir. I’m really the only one to blame here. Just let Louis-“

“Stop.”  All eyes were suddenly on Louis as his cold tone echoed against the walls of the office. “I don’t need you to cover for me, Broody.” Focusing his gaze on the authority figure in front of them, he finished, “I’ll do what needs to be done.”

A silence filled the room for a bit as Dean Higgins read through the tension between the two students in front of him. After taking a good minute of trying to understand what was going on, the eldest in the room nodded briefly before wrapping up.  “All right.  You’ll be serving your sentence at the Sunny Fields Retirement Home. I believe you’re due for an orientation  some time  this Friday. Caroline has your timetable for this. All clear, gentlemen?”

After hearing both boys grunt their agreement, Dean Higgins stood and motioned for the boys to follow him. He ushered the two boys out the door, directing them to his secretary who was busy typing something up on her computer.

When she saw the two figures towering over her desk, she paused  her work and tossed sympathetic smiles at them as she handed each a sheet of legal paper.

“Everything you need to know about tim ing  is there, boys. Just follow your schedule religiously and this whole thing should be over before you know it.”

“Thanks,”  Zayn  murmured as L ouis nodded his acknowledgment.

The walk to the main door of the building was tense and silent, with Louis staring straight ahead while  Zayn  opted to study the patterns of the tiled floors. Once they were out in the field, Louis stopped on his tracks, effectively causing the other to bump into him. Sighing sadly, he turned around and looked at  Zayn  for the first time in the past hour that they’ve been in each other’s company.

“We’re cool, dude. Just. See you Friday.”

And, yeah. Maybe  Zayn  was a little too busy staring to actually reply.


	5. Oh

“Fuck, Louis, get your shit together,” Louis mumbled to himself as he drove into the large metal gates of the nursing home. Parking his Porsche in the empty spot nearest to the main entrance, he sighed as he turned off the engine and slumped back into his seat. Leaning forward again, he took his first real look at the building in front of him, taking in the little details about the nearly-rundown structure. It wasn’t exactly fancy, but it wasn’t like he was expecting anything better. He was sure it was good enough for the old buggers living there.

After fixing his hair in his rearview mirror, he got out of his car with a slam of the door. Letting out a quiet shiver due to a sudden gust of wind, he wrapped his arms around his body as he pulled his phone out of his jacket pocket to find two missed calls and an unopened text from Harry.

> _From: Hazza Bazza!_
> 
> _Hey Lou! Make sure you don’t get into any more shit, yeah? We don’t want your ‘rents finding out. Love you, Boo! Xx_
> 
> _From: Lou Poo_
> 
> _This place sucks shit, man. Looks like someone died here… Oh, wait, yeah. I’m sure that’s happened tons of times. Do you that Zayn kid’s number? Don’t see him anywhere._

Tucking his phone back into his hoodie, he leant against his car, thinking about what Harry said about his parents finding out. Sighing, he reminded himself for the fifth time today to stay focused and not get into any more trouble. He really didn’t want to cause problems with anyone else – especially his father.

Louis was too caught up in his thoughts to realize that Zayn was awkwardly standing behind him, debating on whether or not he should disturb him. Startled by a small cough, Louis snapped out of his personal bubble and brought his attention back to reality. Turning around, he caught the younger boy staring at the hem of his own plaid shirt while playing with the jet black hair resting at the nape of his neck. Fucking dude really was a walking sculpture.

A smile involuntarily crept onto Louis’s face as he met Zayn’s gaze, his brown orbs staring back at him. Louis was just about to shift his gaze from the other because well, it was seriously weird to stare, but he noticed a small smile play up on the smaller boy’s face and for a single second he could feel his heart melt.

_Where the hell did that come from?_

“U-uh, we better go inside. I think we’re already a bit late.” The older boy pulled himself out of his trance after hearing Zayn’s voice. He nodded slightly before letting the other lead the way inside.

Walking in, Louis’s senses filled with the smell of medicine and more medicine. He hated it. He had dreaded the smell since he was a child, and having to spend the whole day with it lodged up his nose wasn’t very inviting. He sniffled as he walked in, being greeted with gracious smiles from old people doing absolutely nothing. He didn’t even bother replying. It was a biit rude, but who gave a fuck. He’d be out in a few weeks and he wasn’t coming back after, anyway.

“Hello, boys!” The two whirled around to face a lady in her mid 30s who greeted them with a large smile on her face. Louis held out his hand and greeted her with a large grin, being sure to look excited about the whole experience. Flipping her blonde hair back, she gave both boys a once over as she pulled out her clipboard to go through the day’s schedule.

Louis was already bored.

“Okay, so from 10:00 to 11:30 you’ll be helping with the cleaning of the rooms. Afterwards, we’ll be preparing lunch and serving at 12:00. You will spend the rest of the day conversing with the residents.” The blonde lady (Taylor or something like that) finished and began leading towards a large room filled with mops and brooms.

Both boys groaned in sync.

“Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time, gentlemen!” She gave a sickly sweet laugh before leaving the two of them to begin the day’s chores.

 

“Time to get to know the others, boys! Finish up cleaning and come to the main hall.” Both Louis and Zayn nodded as they moved to pack up their equipment. Neither of them made any effort to talk to each other apart from the rare “sorry’s” they’d mumble when they accidentally crossed paths. Louis was never one to be quiet, but he enjoyed this silence. He didn’t know why, but it felt nice. Almost… comfortable. “I guess we better get going before she starts nagging us again with that dreaded voice,” Louis chuckled to himself as he put the last of the cleaning cloths, dusting his hands off in approval of his work.

Walking into the room, Louis scanned around looking for someone to talk to. He could see Zayn in the corner of his eye doing the same. Shuffling towards the younger boy, he whispered in his ear, “You found someone yet, Broody?” Zayn tilted his head towards a man who looked to be in his late 60s or early 70s and started walking. The older boy decided to follow in the same direction and head towards the corner of the room.

“Hello, Sir. How have you been today?” Zayn stuck his hand out, hoping for a. Louis observed from the back as an annoyed expression spread on the elder man’s face. Pulling back slightly, the guy smacked away Zayn’s hand. Both boys were rather surprised at the guy’s rough actions, Zayn even roughly pulling his and away to rub at the sharp sting.

“What’ya tryna do, boy? Get your filthy hands away from me!” A Southern accent escaped the man’s lips as he eyed them both up, eyes turning to slits as if to gauge the younger men.

Louis had tried. He really did. But he couldn’t help the fit of laughter that escaped him. Bowing his head and stepping back, Zayn let the other one take the initiative of introducing themselves. “Hey, sorry about my friend here. Zayn’s a little awkward with people,” Louis lightly patted the slightly taller boy’s shoulder before taking a seat beside the elder. “My name’s Louis.”

Both Louis and Zayn watched as a smile spread across the man’s face. Slowly, they watched as he lifted a hand and slapped it on Louis’s shoulder. “Ya know, your friend Zin could learn a thing or two from you.” He eyed the boy who was still standing before continuing. “Take a seat, then!”

Louis smiled cheekily at Zayn who was completely mortified at this point. Did he seriously just get rejected by a senior citizen?

“So,” Brad, as he’d introduced himself, began, “How’d you two boys end up in this hellhole?” Clearly, he couldn’t understand how two fine looking young men such as Zayn and Louis would want to spend their time in a nursing home. Both boys looked at each other, Louis’s face holding a mischievous grin and Zayn blushed mad. “You see, Brad, our good buddy here got a bit too tipsy some nights ago and ended up defacing school property. We got caught while I was trying to save him and so here we are! Shows me not to play hero next time.” Louis narrated, finishing off with a nod and a wink at Zayn’s direction.

Zayn looked at Louis with a mock-scandalized expression before swiftly replying, “I don’t seem to recall you telling our friend Brad who got me drunk.” Louis was shocked at the younger boy’s sudden playfulness, but he couldn’t help but let a small chuckle slip in amusement.

Louis leant forward adjusting his position in the wooden chairs, looking around he could see a few elderly women knitting while talking to other residents and men chatting away to each other, It looked like they had just taken out a scene from a movie to his eyes. Bringing his attention back to the conversation in front of him, he politely smiled, glancing across to Zayn, he could see the younger boy was deeply engaged in some bullshit – that Louis obviously didn’t care about – the older man was talking. The older boy almost found it amusing how engaged Zayn was listening to a conversation of  what seemed utterly boring to Louis.

“Tell me about yourself. Are you married? Do you have children?” Louis blurted out, interrupting the previous conversation but he was sure that this was more interesting than whatever they were talking about. The feather haired boy watched as sadness overtook Brad’s eyes.

“I did have a wife. Her name was Andrea.” Louis could feel his gut ﬁll up with guilt and his stomach churn inside of him. “I’m sorry for your loss sir,” Zayn replied saving the other boy from guilt and in a way Louis really appreciated that.

“You know, she was quite the lady. I remember seeing her walking into college with her friends, blonde hair bouncing on her shoulders and bright blue eyes shining with excitement. She would sit on the table across from me in the cafeteria, she would never dare to make direct eye contact with me but you could always see she wanted to.” Louis could already see small tears welling up in Brad’s eyes. He hated that he was the one to bring up such a cheesy topic but he wouldn’t dare to interrupt. “She would look at me every time I turned away and I would do the same. We were from two completely different social groups so we didn’t really hang out in the beginning. She was quite, soft and loving while I was loud, spontaneous and, to be honest, a bit of a dickhead. We were like day and night. When we met for the very first time, she didn't talk at all and I talked a little too much but something brought us together.” Brad choked at his words before continuing. “Our differences didn’t matter anymore. All that mattered to us was each other. We loved each other through thick and thin. We got married right after college and I could ﬁnally say she was all mine. I loved everything about her, the little birthmark she had right next to her right eye, the way she would bury her neck into my shoulders every time we hugged, and I even loved the way she used try to make me laugh with her faces. I really loved her, I really did but she left. She didn’t wait for me, she left me all alone. But I stayed because I knew that she would hate me for leaving behind my life to be with her.”

Wiping his eyes softly with his sleeves Brad looked up at both boys as a small, weak smile forced itself upon his lips. Louis looked over to Zayn who was wiping away small tears. He never really pegged Zayn for the romantic type – poetry considered – but who could blame him, the story nearly crushed even Louis.

An awkward silence was starting to take over just as someone started clapping their hands in the middle of the room.

“Time for a nap, guys! Let’s get it going!” All three figures diverted their attention to the middle of the hall where the supervisor was standing, hands on hips. Louis and Zayn stood up and smiled politely while helping Brad get up. Waving their goodbye’s, the two stood side by side, Louis choosing to break the ice by joking, “You got a little something on your eye Broody,” he pointed at Zayn’s eye where he could still see little droplets of  tears stained.

“Oh um, yeah I just got a little dirt in my eye. Yeah.” Shyly looking down, he pulled at his sleeve and used it to wipe the side of  his eye.

“Mm-hmm, sure.” Louis teased further. “Well, I guess we better get going?” The older boy offered with a smug look. Keeping his smirk on, he lead the way towards the reception area.

“You’re done for the day, boys. Thanks for your help and we shall see you next week! We’ll call the university so don’t worry about signing in for your hours or anything.”

Louis huffed in response. He had almost forgotten that he had to come back each week to this hell. Sure, well it wasn’t that bad, but still. Deciding to just accept his fate, though, he watched as Zayn gave a big smile to the receptionist, making her blush slightly. Harry was right, this dude really did give him a run for his money.

“Hey, did you want a ride or something?” Louis asked. He had only just realized that Zayn didn’t have a car parked or anything.

“Oh, uh-h no it’s alright. I’ll just walk or take the bus back.” The younger boy replied looking around his surroundings. He rubbed at the back of his neck as he avoided Louis’s gaze. “No seriously, I’ll drop you off. It looks like it’s about to rain, anyway. Wouldn't want that pretty head yours getting wet. What do you say?” Louis smiled, looking up at Zayn who looked like a deer caught in headlights.

_Cute. Wait, what?_

“I promise I won’t get you in trouble again.” He tipped his head to the side, feigning cockiness as he mentally panicked at the realization that he just referred to the kid as “cute.” He didn’t know why he was persisting so much but he just wanted to spend more time with the younger boy. “Okay, ﬁne.” Zayn relented with a nod towards Louis.

“Great!” Louis smiled as he stuffed his hands in the front pockets of his hoodie. Moving to grab his phone, he realized a bit too late that his keys were snatched along with the action causing the piece of metal to fall on the pavement. Silently cursing at his clumsiness, he bent down to grab it, only to hit his head with Zayn’s who’d also made a move to bend to the ground. All form of balance for either boy was lost as they stumbled down, one landing on top of the other.

Louis could feel the young boy’s breath tickle past neck as his head fell into the curve of his collarbones. He really didn't want to move, he promised, but when the younger boy’s face was almost just an inch away from his, Louis couldn’t help himself from breathing out a quick “oh.”

No one could hold that against him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry it took so long. bhoomy and i were both busy. then i went on hiatus and now she went on hiatus... sort of. she's still gonna write. she's just not gonna be on tumblr for a bit.
> 
> anyway, i hope this chapter doesn't disappoint because bhoomy worked really hard on it even when i was away and could not help at all. she's super!
> 
> thanks to her friend, glenda, for helping with the ideas and the polishing off!


	6. Flustered

Zayn shuffled to his feet on instinct, mumbling all sorts of incoherent apologies as he mentally tried to decide on whether or not he should help Louis off the pavement. Really, it was the right thing to do, wasn’t it? He did knock the boy off balance.  
  
He didn’t have much time to mull over it, though. Because just as he was making a move to help Louis up, the other was standing right in front of him, an unreadable expression on his pretty face as he dusted off his jeans. Silently, he walked over to the driver’s side door, pulling it open as he wordlessly motioned for Zayn to do the same on the other side of his car.  
  
A comfortable sense of quiet took over as soon as the two were settled inside Louis’s Porsche. As the brunet revved up the engine and adjusted the heater, Zayn took in the sleek interior of the car and wow. The Tomlinsons must be pretty loaded because even frozen on his spot in the passenger’s seat, he could see the discreet little details that just subtly screamed money.  
  
“Damn it, I’m sorry,” Zayn apologized out of the blue, his eyes settling on the dashboard. He dragged his hands over his face, settling them on his lap after. “I’m… Well, I can’t really say this doesn’t happen often because really it kind of does. So… Yeah. Y-you’ll be dealing with a lot of it since you’re obviously stuck with me.” Pouting unconsciously, he continued, “It’s probably safe to keep your distance. Niall says I’m a walking bad luck charm some days and I really don’t want that to rub off on you. Like, honestly. I can walk. I-I’ll w-“  
  
Zayn stopped midsentence when he saw Louis tip his head to one side, eyes glossy and distant. Furrowing his brow in confusion, he found himself making a face that was halfway between concerned and curious as Louis started blinking and shaking his head.  
  
“A-are you okay?” Zayn asked, unsure of what was happening around him. Narrowing his eyes, he sat back slightly, settling himself against the car door as he waited for Louis to respond. He’d almost lost hope and thought that maybe he’d actually bored the blue-eyed male to death when he heard a soft chuckle.  
  
“Yeah,” Louis turned his attention to the rearview mirror and started backing up. “Sorry. You were rambling. You kinda lost me there, buddy.”  
  
Zayn’s eyes widened in realization,“Oh, I guess you kinda have to get used to that as well. Niall says I do that quite often.” Zayn could feel his cheeks turn scarlet as he watched Louis’ eyes light up in amusement at the slightly younger boy's embarrassment.  
  
Deciding to keep his mouth shut before he mortified himself any further, Zayn turned away and looked out the car window while Louis remained driving. Adjusting his position in the passenger's seat again, he couldn’t help but sneak a few glances at Louis while the guy was busy. He didn’t want to sound freaky or anything but if he were to write a poem about the blue-eyed boy right that second, he would probably have to use all the words in the dictionary... and maybe make up some of his own as well.  
  
Snapping back to reality, it came to his attention that he had never been to this part of town before. Going past large mansions and houses, he couldn’t help but think that maybe they were lost. “U-uh Louis, where are we going?” Zayn asked, throwing a worried glance at the boy sitting next to him.  
  
Chuckling to himself, Louis ran a quick hand through his hair. “Calm down, bro. I'm just switching the route around.” Looking back at Zayn, he shot the boy a quick grin and then continued to focus on the road.  
  
“How do I know you’re not trying to kidnap me?” Zayn retorted, surprising himself by narrowing his eyes and turning to face Louis with a playful look on his face.  
  
Louis had almost looked startled for a second but then his expression soon turned to a large smirk. Raising his eyebrows, he shot back, “At this point it’s almost like you _want_ me to take you away, especially after you've constantly been sneaking glances at me. Don’t think I didn’t see you, Broody.”  
  
Zayn just gawked at Louis, completely speechless. “I, u-um, I was just observing the car interior....yeah. That’s... it's nice.” He lied through his teeth. He had desperately tried to cover up for himself but judging by Louis’s smug smile, he wasn't doing a very good job.  
  
“Whatever you say, man.” Louis grinned while reaching out a hand to turn on the radio. He fiddled with the dial for a while, trying to find a song he would actually like. Finally after going back and forth between channels, he decided on, “Troublemaker” by Taio Cruz. Zayn hadn’t heard of the song before, wasn’t exactly his ‘type.' But he didn't want to make an even bigger fool of himself, so he decided not to speak about it.  
  
After a long, not to mention very quiet, fifteen minutes, Zayn felt the car slowly coming to a stop. Looking up at Louis with a confused expression, he watched as the other boy turned to face him, a weak smile plastered across his face.  
  
“Is everything okay?” Zayn asked, as he saw Louis pull the key out of the ignition.  
  
“Peachy!” Louis replied, a little too enthusiastically. Unbuckling his seatbelt, he reached for his door handle and pushed his door open, raising a finger at Zayn to tell him to wait as he stepped out and walked over to the back of the car. After a good two minutes – yes, Zayn counted – Louis came back with a very sheepish expression on his face.  
  
“Is... something wrong?” Zayn tentatively questioned, not really sure how to reach Louis.  
  
“Well,” Louis paused. “It really depends on what you mean by 'wrong.' I mean, I guess if you think running out of gas is 'wrong' then yeah. Something's wrong.” Worry filled Louis’s face as he bit his lip in concern. As far as he knew, they were stuck in the middle of nowhere with no fuel and no phone reception.  
  
Shit.  
  
“We're almost to my house, though.” Louis quickly amended, seeing the panic start to become obvious on Zayn's face. “It's right up the hill. Should only take us ten minutes to walk there, I think.” He wasn't really sure. In fact, he would bet that it was closer to twenty, but he didn't want Zayn to worry any more than he already did so ten, okay? Ten. “I can get the driver to take you home from there or I could call you a ccab. Whatever works, right?”  
  
Zayn found himself nodding dumbly as he watched Louis make a move to exit the vehicle. Blinking back his confusion, he removed his seat belt and stepped out into the pavement as well, closing the passenger door as carefully as he could.  
  
Zayn knew that he had only been walking for five minutes but to him, it felt like he had been running a marathon. He tried to blame it on the steep path they were trekking, but really he knew it was just his complete lack of physical fitness. Bending down to catch his breath, he looked up at Louis who walked straight past him.  
  
“Already tired, I see?” He asked, looking back at Zayn – who, to his opinion, seemed to be one step away from passing out.  
  
“Shut up, not everyone has good muscles like you.” His head shot up in realization at what he had just said.  
  
“Oh, so you like my muscles, huh?” Louis joked as he flexed his biceps with a satisfied look. Letting out a small chuckle, he began walking up the large hill once again, grabbing Zayn by the forearm and dragging the poor guy along. “Come on, dude. I was only kidding.” He stopped for a second, waiting for the other boy to catch his breath until Louis was satisfied that Zayn wasn't going to spontaneously faint on him.  
  
It was all fun and games from there, until it started raining. Without warning, water washed down on both boys as they scrambled towards the trees, hoping to avoid walking under the strong showers. Zayn saw as Louis’ continued to pull his jacket over his head in order to protect his perfectly styled hair. He looked down at his minimal amount of warm clothing and huffed.  
  
Covering himself up with nothing but the plain button-up shirt he had on proved to be quite useless after a few minutes, so begrudginly, Zayn gave up. Grumbling to himself, he blinked past the water in his eyes to seek out some way to shield at least his face from the downpour. But the best he could find was a leaf, and his best judgment told him that that wouldn't be of much help. So he decided to just accept his fate and try to at least look unbothered.  
  
He was so caught up in his own world, that he didn't realize that Louis was taking off his jacket until the guy was nudging it towards him. Zayn looked at it stupidly and then raised his head to look at Louis with confusion written over his face. This earned him an impatient look from the other, who was obviously trying to tell him something that he couldn't quite comprehend because of the cold. When Zayn still hadn't reacted after a few seconds, Louis clicked his tongue and annoyance, grabbing the skinny boy to his side.  
  
“Oh, for crying out loud,” the smaller boy muttered impatiently (albeit a little fondly), wrapping the woolen-lined jacket around both their shoulders. It was a tight fit. Louis had to wrap his arm around Zayn to keep the other close to his side, but it worked so the younger male just kept quiet, choosing to hide his flustered cheeks by looking at the pavement as they walked on.  
  
They were silent for a few beats, just letting the sounds around them take over as they soldiered on. But then Zayn help Louis bump his hip against his own, causing him to blink and look up at the boy who was smiling widely beside him. “Come on, bud. Don't want your pretty self catching a cold now, do you?”  
  
Zayn found himself nodding slowly at Louis, eyes not moving an inch from his face.  
  
Five minutes later, both boys found themselves at the front steps of Louis’s mansion. Zayn, having snapped out of his Louis-induced trance only seconds before they stopped walking, was as red as a tomato as he watching Louis jogging in place as an attempt to ward off the cold.  
  
“Let's get you inside,” he heard Louis cheerfully say, as the boy led the way inside.  
  
Taking a proper look around, Zayn couldn’t help but think that the Tomlinsons' entire estate was probably bigger then all of their university, if the size of the house itself was something to go by. Walking into the house – which was more like a palace, in Zayn’s opinion – he could feel his jaw hit the ground. Expensive furniture was placed neatly around the house, covering ever corner and surface tastefully. If Louis was an only child, then wow. It must have been pretty lonely growing up in such a large place.  
  
“My room's this way.” Louis's voice reached his ears as they made a turn down one of the many hallways in the second floor. “It's probably gonna be messy. Sorry.”  
  
Zayn opened his mouth, about to say something along the lines of _it's seriously fine, whatever_ , when Louis opened a set of double doors and they were immediately assaulted by the sounds of guns going off, and curses spewing out from what could probably be at least two other people. Confused, and admittedly a little scared out of his wits, he stepped inside and looked around, only to spot Harry and Liam heavily engrossed in some war game of sorts that Zayn couldn't pinpoint at the moment.  
  
“Gentlemen,” Louis tossed his keys on his desk as he made his presence known. His tone was playful as he addressed his two best friends. “We've got company. Behave.” And as if on cue, one of the boys paused the game before both heads turned towards the newcomers. Clearly confusing both Harry and Liam, Zayn stood frozen in his spot as Louis rested an elbow on his shoulder. “What?”  
  
It took a half-second of silence before recognition dawned on Harry's face. Dropping his controller, he leaped over the back of Louis's couch and ran over to Zayn, wrapping him in a bear hug and lifting him a good four inches off the ground. “Zaynie boy! How are you?” Harry sounded so geniunely enthusiastic that Zayn couldn't help but chuckle, “Good to see you! Why are you wet, though? Did Tommo do this to you?”  
  
“Hey!” Louis protested, an offended look taking up residence on his face. “Take that back!”  
  
“No!” Harry stuck his tongue out at his comparably tiny best friend. Wrapping a protective arm around Zayn, they walked together to the adjoining bathroom, pointedly ignoring Louis's grumpy mumbling from the spot where they left him. “He's such an idiot, no?”  
  
“Um,” Zayn started, not really sure how to respond when someone calls their best friend an idiot. Should he agree? Should he defend said best friend? What's the etiquette for these things? “He's alright. Good, solid guy.”  
  
He heard Harry hum in agreement as he watched the guy shuffling around, looking for God knows what. Sitting himself on the edge of the tub, he looked aimlessly around the room until a towel was shoved into his face, along with what looked like a shirt and sweats.  
  
“Those are mine so I'm sure they'll fit better than Louis's. Go get yourself dried up, yeah?” Harry smiled geniunely as he handed Zayn the clothes. “I'm pretty sure Louis would kill himself if you got sick.”  
  
And just like that, Zayn was left to his own devices.


End file.
